New York Chinatown hardest hit after September 11

The Asian American Federation of New York recently released a 60-page report detailing the
rates of employment, business closings, and lost revenues in Chinatown three months after
September 11. There are some 120 garment factories in New York. Over forty garment factories
in Chinatown were closed. One building at 265 Canal Street used to have ten garment factories.
Since September 11, four of them have shut down. The garment factories in Chinatown lost $250
million and cost 2,600 people their jobs. The average salary for garment factory labor is $112 per
week, a decline of 46%. Retailer business is also down sharply, less 55%, particularly jewelry
stores. There are 1,423 retailer stores constituting 38% of its total business. Among the retailers,
361 are food stores followed by 245 jewelry stories. Overall, some 32,000 people lost their jobs in
Chinatown. Chinatown has 284 restaurants of which 165 in the south of Canal Street had to close
business for at least one week after September 11.